


Under the Yew Tree

by kiwifangirl



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Drabble, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Grief/Mourning, How Do I Tag, Post-Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-25
Updated: 2018-09-25
Packaged: 2019-07-17 10:19:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16093649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiwifangirl/pseuds/kiwifangirl
Summary: Harry was still outside, staring solemnly out at Ottery St Catchpole.“Mate…”“Not now.”I didn’t push too hard; I knew Harry needed space. It was just… he’d been out there all day. He’d just arrived, muttered hi, put his stuff in my room and headed under that ruddy Yew tree.Post-Ministry, Harry's not in a good place. His friends want to be there for him.





	Under the Yew Tree

**Author's Note:**

> Hello world!  
> I wrote this a few years ago, and it was my first fanfiction! I thought it was sorta cute so I'm sharing it with you. :) Enjoy!

Harry was still outside, staring solemnly out at Ottery St Catchpole.

“Mate…”

“Not now.”

I didn’t push too hard; I knew Harry needed space. It was just… he’d been out there all day. He’d just arrived, muttered hi, put his stuff in my room and headed under that ruddy Yew tree. Hadn’t spoken another word. He hadn’t eaten anything either and it was almost dark. It wasn’t like him to miss three meals (and dessert).  
Harry just wasn’t the same after the Ministry. Hell, I wasn’t either. You didn’t just walk away from an ordeal like that. Not to mention I was grieving for Sirius, too.  
Maybe Harry just needed time. We all needed some time. I opened my mouth to say something, decided against it, and walked slowly away. I had to go greet Hermione anyway; she was getting there this evening. As much as she wanted to be with her parents, Hermione needed her friends, and we needed her. There she was! “Hermione!” I exclaimed as I went over to hug her.

“Ron!” Hermione smiled. We shared that moment of joy before sadness again tainted the air. Not like that was unusual nowadays. “How are you?”

“Not too bad, yourself?”

“I’m doing okay…” She looked at me for a second, scanned the space behind me, and frowned. “Where’s Harry?”

“Oh, you know him… he’s out doing tricks on his broomstick, talking to unicorns and boasting about his success.”

“Ron!”

“He’s under the Yew tree. Been there all day. He’s pretty… unresponsive.”

Hermione looked down. I knew what she was thinking – he was worse than before the holidays.

I walked inside, Hermione trailing behind. She greeted everyone and went to put her stuff in Ginny’s room. I just sat down in the kitchen. This might take a while after all… God knows what girls find to talk about. Fred and George joined me on the dining table. We shared some useless banter before the girls came downstairs again. 

“So how’s our favourite know-it-all?” asked Fred.

“She’s rather good, thank you very much,” Hermione smiled.

“How wonderful,” said George.

“Spiffing,” added Fred.

“Delightful,” finished George.

“Unlike one of our number…” Hermione muttered, and our faces soured. “Maybe I should go get him.”

“Well, good luck with that, my friend,” sighed George. “Trust me, we’ve tried. Don’t sneak up on him or he might turn you into a toad.”

“Honestly!” Hermione huffed as she got out of her chair. “You might as well throw fireworks in his face!”

“Well Hermione, he does love our fireworks…” smirked Fred as she walked out of the room.

\---

Honestly, I thought, as I left the table. Those two can never be serious. Even as a war begins. When I got outside, I walked towards the tree. And I saw him… just sitting there. He’d been there all day? This was so unlike Harry. Yeah, he retreated to his own mind all the time, but not like this. I couldn’t bear it. So what did I do? I snuck up on him. 

That way, he couldn’t tell me to go away.

I plopped myself down on the ground next to my best friend, lying back on the tree.

He didn’t argue; that was a start.

I sat there for a while, following his gaze off to who knows where he was looking. Probably off to a ministry department with prophecies, tentacled creatures and a veil. Then I looked at him. His gaze was stony, steady, and emotionless (or all the things that shouldn’t describe a sixteen-year-old). Then he stared back at me. “Hi Harry,” I said.

“’lo, Hermione,” he replied, lips quirking in a pathetic attempt at a smile. 

And I hugged him. After he got over his surprise, I felt his shoulders relax and he hugged me back. “It’s good to see you again,” I said to him.

“Yeah… you too,” Harry whispered. I wanted to cry; even in the few words Harry had spoken, I could hear how defeated he sounded. How alone. So that was it. I pulled back gently and looked him in the eye as I held his shoulders.

“You need to talk. To someone,” I spoke strongly. He couldn’t keep hiding and bottling it in! He looked about as good as if a dementor had attacked him. “You can’t hold it in forever!” He looked away but I followed his movement.

“It’s just… ” He faltered. “You don’t understand.”

“I do understand, Harry. I miss him too.” He flinched slightly as I voiced his despair. “But, as fun as it is, wallowing won’t help. It’s easy, but it’s not right.” Harry leant back against the tree and let out a deep sigh. 

“It’s my fault,” he said, his face contorting. I thought I saw his eyes mist up.

“No it’s not,” I responded.

“Everyone keeps saying that!” He snapped. “But I was the one that was stupid enough to think he was in danger and I was the one he came to save!”

I sighed. It was dark now. I summoned a jar and conjured a fire to give us some light. “Sirius made his own decision to come after you, knowing full well the risks. He wouldn’t just stand by while the other Order members came after us. You can’t blame yourself.”

Harry’s features twisted again as he looked at me. It was then that I saw just how much pain he was in. “I just miss him so much.” Tears started rolling down his face and I guided him onto my lap as he sobbed. I stroked his messy hair which was even more of a nest than usual. A few of my own tears mixed in with his as I kissed his forehead. This was good. It was the start. We sat like that for a while, even after Harry ran out of tears. 

After some time, it got chilly. I carefully lifted his head, helped him off the ground and he braced himself to walk back to Ron’s house. I put my arm around him and steered him into the Burrow. He looked at me a little guiltily and I smiled at him. Seriously, does he still not know how friends work? I would always be happy to spend the time with him. He seemed to understand and I almost saw him smile, too.

There was one light left on as we approached the back door. When we walked in, Ron was sitting at the dining table; the last of the Weasleys awake. He stood up as we entered, looking a tad anxious. We just stood there and Harry walked over and hugged his best mate. Boys. My two best friends smiled and I returned the expression. We were broken and scarred, but the wounds would heal. God knows we’d get a lot more of those before the war ended. But us three, the somewhat tarnished Golden Trio, were still together and still in one piece. And as we walked up the stairs to go to bed, we just smiled at our love for each other and smiled because we knew, that whatever pulled us down, we’d always be there to lift each other up.

**Author's Note:**

> Harry Potter... After all this time? Always.
> 
> I'd love to hear if you liked this, or if it was boring, or if it was terrible! Feel free to lemme know :)


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